1960 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"Baseball's best pitcher today - in won-lost percentage and lowest ERA - is Edward Charles (Whitey) Ford, the little lefty from the streets of New York City. Called the toughest of 'em all by opposing batters, Whitey has a fine curve ball and good speed. When he has his control, a bat is of little help. Elbow and arm trouble have plagued him the last two seasons but he hasn't lost more than 10 games in any one of his eight years with the Yankees.
Now 31, Whitey won a World Series game when was 21 (1950). In 1955 he put together consecutive 1-hitters; in 1956 he fanned six straight. Whitey pitched for Butler, Norfolk, Binghamton and Kansas City before starting his brilliant career in 1950. As a rookie, he won nine of ten decisions."
-Don Schiffer, 1960 Mutual Baseball Annual
1959
April 15: Downs Orioles, 3-1, on 6-hitter.
April 22: Goes 14 to shut out Senators, 1-0, on seven hits.
May 24: Shuts out Orioles, 9-0, on two hits.
May 29: Hurls 8-hitter to beat Orioles, 5-2.
June 4: Sets down Tigers, 14-3, on seven hits.
June 23: Stops A's, 10-2, with 5-hitter.
June 27: Named to staff of American League All-Stars.
August 7: After elbow trouble, fans 10 and gives up five hits in 7 2/3, to beat A's, 3-0.
September 19: Downs Red Sox, 3-1, on four hits.
September 25: Turns back Orioles, 5-2, on 8-hitter.
Comment: "Ford wound up with a respectable record but lost more games than ever before and wasn't the stopper he had been in establishing himself as the league's No. 1 southpaw."
-Joe Sheehan, Dell Sports Magazine Baseball, April 1960
"Edward Charles Ford is one of the American League's premier pitchers despite the fact he's never had a 20-victory season. Whitey, as you know him, broke in with a bang when called up to the Bombers in 1950. He posted a 9-1 record in that half-season and entered the 1960 campaign with a lifetime total of 121 wins and only 50 losses for a major league leading won-lost percentage of .708. His earned run average of 2.66 is also low among active big leaguers. Last year when he was 16-10 was the first time Whitey ever lost more than eight games.
Ford played sandlot ball with the Police Athletic League in New York and was signed by the late Paul Krichell, then dean of scouts. He's been a member of five All-Star teams and pitched in six World Series. In 1955 he was named the No. 1 American League pitcher by the Sporting News. Against other clubs in the American League, Whitey holds an edge over each of them."
-The New York Yankees Official 1960 Yearbook
Edward Charles Ford (P) #16
Born October 21, 1928 in New York, N.Y., resides in Lake Success, N.Y. Height: 5-10, weight: 182. Bats left, throws left. Married and the father of one girl, Sally Ann (8), and two boys, Eddie (7) and Tommy (6).
-The New York Yankees Official 1960 Yearbook
"Whitey Ford, an eight-year veteran (plus two years in the Army), has a remarkable 121-50 won and lost record for a .708 percentage, tops among active pitchers in the big leagues.
Ford, who failed to make the grade as a first baseman because of his size (5'10"), was signed off the New York sandlots in 1947 after starring in the Hearst Sandlot classic.
He pitched for Butler in his maiden season of pro ball and had a 13-4 record. In '48, with Norfolk of the Piedmont League, Ford was 16-8 and led the loop in strikeouts with 171. Whitey won the Eastern League strikeout crown with 151 in 1949 and was the ERA king with a splendid 1.61 while chucking for Binghamton.
The Yankees assigned the southpaw to Kansas City of the American Association in 1950 and he was 6-3 in mid-season when he got the call to report to the Stadium. Appearing in 20 games, the blond smoothie won nine and lost only one for a .900 mark. He also added the Phillies' scalp to his belt with a victory in the fourth and final of the World Series, going 8 2/3 innings before giving way to Allie Reynolds.
After two years in the service, Ford rejoined the Bombers in 1953 and turned in an 18-6 season. He was 16-8 the next summer and 18-7 in 1955.
His win total in 1955 tied him for the American League high and he was honored by the Sporting News as the Junior Circuit's No. 1 hurler. Ford had back-to-back one-hitters during September of that year plus two World Series victories.
In '56 his 19-6 mark gave him a league leading 19-6 percentage. Whitey also copped the ERA crown in '56 and '58 with marks of 2.47 and 2.01, respectively. Last year he was 16-10 for a .615 mark, his lowest average in the years spent with the Bombers.
He tied an American League with six consecutive strikeouts against Kansas City in July 1956, and had 15 K's in posting a 1-0 14-inning win over Washington last April. Whitey, who has also won five World Series verdicts and has taken part in four All-Star Games, is still after his first 20 win season.
With one of the best pickoff motions, a good batting eye and an uncanny knack for fielding his position, Ford rates as one of the all-time great Yankee hurlers.
Ford and his wife and his three children now live in Lake Success, New York."
-New York Yankees 1960 Yearbook (Jay Publishing Co.)
"This was not Ed 'Whitey' Ford's best year. But the little lefty was effective against the Orioles when the chips were down. He won five games from Baltimore while losing only two; yielded only 40 hits in 54.2 innings, and compiled a 1.64 earned run average.
Overall lifetime, Whitey has the best won-lost percentage (about .690) and lowest earned run average of any active major league front-line pitcher. In previous Series, he is 5-4 with a 2.81 earned run average, and his 12 starts are a World Series record."
-1960 World Series Official Souvenir Program
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